


we are all just prisoners here, of our own device

by chaoticgaysex



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Manipulation, Season 3 Speculation, Sparrow Number Five | The Boy, are we ever going to talk about the fact that reggie is. an alien...., borrows things from the comics, im holding out for this theory, the siblings r mentioned but don’t play a big role
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-25 17:41:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30092742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticgaysex/pseuds/chaoticgaysex
Summary: Number Five and Reginald make an agreement.(In which Reginald Hargreeves was never trying to save the world, and Five is too emotionally exhausted to realise he’s nothing more than a puppet.)
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy & Reginald Hargreeves
Comments: 12
Kudos: 46





	we are all just prisoners here, of our own device

**Author's Note:**

> title from hotel california (after reading the lyrics i only now realise how fucked up this song is) and im really fucking hoping they put it in s3 if they do the hotel oblivion plotline

Reginald had been plotting the end of the world for a good century now.

Reginald had this planned from the very beginning, ever since he stepped foot on American soil after fleeing from his planet. The plan did not come into complete fruition, and there were a few points he had to change, but a true tactician was willing to be malleable, not stagnant and close minded.

His own world was dying, and they needed a new home. Earth was ideal in every sense, as it was perfectly parallel to his home planet. It was a good distance from the sun, it had water and dirt. It was much better than the various rocks situated in most of the galaxies.

Unfortunately, something already lives there. Humans, and various other pesky animals.

Those pests have been working steadily towards their own demise for a very, very long time. It’s a shame, because the entire race isn’t terrible- after all, Grace was a wonderful, intelligent addition he would have liked to keep around even after the end of the world. But his race needs a new home, and Earth is the only planet in a manageable distance that fits their requirements.

The original plan was to let the humans destroy themselves. However, they are taking far, far too long to collapse, and thus different actions must take place.

His race doesn’t have the means to completely annihilate a planet; they aren’t particularly fearsome warriors. All of Earth’s media representation of aliens have been, at best, insulting.

With the 43 children with various super powers, Reginald began to form a plan.

Of course, there are better, easier plans that don’t involve traumatizing seven children for thirty some odd years to get them to start an apocalypse, but it was unfortunately the only possible plan that had a high success rate. Reginald had found that combining human genomes with his own alien DNA resulted in humans with intensive powers. These powers could do the trick for him.

Reginald arrived in the early 1900s, eager to destroy the world as quickly as possible. Time works far differently on this planet than expected due to the gravitational differences, however, and Reginald arrived much earlier than necessary.

Still, it gave him plenty of time to plot over which kids to buy or steal, how to amass enough wealth to let him get away with what he wishes to do, and how to exploit every Earth resource he can get his hands on to exacerbate the situation he’s trying to create.

He had a lot of free time on his hands.

The Temps Aeternalis was formed after a few years of prodding at the possibilities of time travel. It wasn’t particularly hard to create those briefcases- his race had already been working on the idea before he left, and the humans themselves had a bit of research that would end up aiding in the creation. Humans were more than willing to join the Commission under the guise of getting immortality due to mastery over time, and most were rather disenchanted with the Earth experience, anyway.

AJ Carmicheal was appointed as board of directors, and Reginald allowed him to keep control over the organization while he continued his plans in the current time. It wasn’t his plan a, after all- nothing more than a back up plan, to ensure that free will doesn’t get in the way of fabricating the perfect timeline where the children destroy the world.

The infinite switchboard gave him further access to potential future events. He studied it intensely, figuring out the best ways to manipulate each component of the timeline in his favour. Learning which children to buy, how to get them unstable enough to destroy the world, and using the knowledge of future events to help him gain extensive cash.

He chose those first seven for a variety of reasons. His time at the Commission allowed him to already know what each of their powers would be. Projectile manipulation and super strength weren’t necessarily impressive, but the personalities attached to them would be imperative in splitting the family. Allison’s rumours to bend reality was a great way to sow seeds of distrust within the family. Seven’s power was of course the focus of how to destroy the earth. Number Four’s potential was vast, but because of the mental tolls the power would no doubt have, he would also be as unstable as Seven. 

Six’s power would ultimately lead to a tragedy that would affect the family, and he knew with certainty he could twist that against those foolish children. His powers weren’t strong enough to destroy the world, not without a lot of dimensional, space time tampering, but it would undoubtedly destroy him. Those monsters were native to his planet, after all. He knows their destructive, ouroboros tendencies.

Number Five’s power was troublesome, but it made a fantastic back up plan should Seven fall through. Initially, he had regarded them purely as defensive, until he realised the scope of what space manipulation could include, let alone the potential of time travel. Space time manipulation included the manipulation of gravitational fields, leading to Five, at his full potential, being able to easily cause the destruction of the world with gravitational and dark matter manipulation.

The plan had started with Vanya, though. Her powers were so easy, so obviously destructive and malleable in nature. She was an emotional child who could easily be manipulated into doing whatever he needed. Everything worked as planned, as Reginald saw in that very first 2019 timeline, where Five did not come back to help, where Vanya blew up the moon after her scuffle with her siblings.

Five, however, was a continuous, unintentional thorn in his side.

Five and Reginald were cut from the same cloth, that much he could plainly see. Out of all of those rejected children, he was by far the only one who seemed to possess even a shred of intelligence. Even among his own Sparrow Academy, none of the children held a candle to the sharpness of Five’s mind.

Perhaps it was an evolutionary adaptation. Afterall, Five’s powers relied solely on mathematics. One had to be intelligent to perform complex equations in the blink of an eye. 

It was this intelligence that caused him to be a potential threat to his plans. Worst of all, not only was he intelligent, but he also had something of a bleeding heart; emotional, caring, and willing to throw away everything to protect his siblings. Those qualities were likely admirable in true heroes, but Reginald wasn’t actually looking for a team of heroes, and thus, Five became a very, very large problem.

In some timelines, he would figure out that Vanya was being subdued, that she had powers like the rest of them, and would get her off those pills and train with her. He would convince Luther to move out of the house, he would have figured out how to save Ben from a dangerous mission and himself, he would have helped Klaus with his ghosts, he would have stuck by Allison’s side and showed her that love didn’t have to come from manipulation, he would have supported Diego in his endeavours. Five was the glue, unintentionally, to this family, because he cared so deeply about them.

It was rather disgusting, honestly.

Reginald, at that point, didn’t realise Five’s potential. All he saw was a threat to his meticulously planned destruction of the world, and decided to take him out.

For better or worse, Reginald had a hand in raising Five, and knew all of his worst qualities. He was above all arrogant and eager to learn. Reginald decides to twist that thirst of knowledge against him.

He knew, of course, exactly what Five’s powers were and how they would manifest. He also knows how to train him, how to help him with time travel.  
Instead, he tells him he’s not ready.

It drives Five mad. The fact that knowing how to do something new and exciting was in his reach, right at his fingertips, but he wasn’t allowed to learn it. 

Five does it anyway, just as Reginald assumed he would, and disappears off the face of the Earth.

With his threat eliminated, everything goes according to plan.

The rift between their family only grows, his suicide brings the family back together, their dysfunction causes Vanya to cause the end of the world, and the apocalypse happens all according to plan.

Except, Reginald hadn’t accounted for the idea that perhaps Five might appear in the apocalypse, live for forty years, become an assassin within the very organisation he created, and then go along to undo all his hard work.

The apocalypse could have gone off without a hitch, but Five manages to come back into the picture and completely rewrite this timeline. Perhaps Reginald should have seen this coming, and if anyone asks, he will say he did; however, in all fairness, most people would have died had they been stranded at the end of the world, through starvation or their own hands.

He supposes, if there was anyone who stood a chance against changing fate, it would be Five. He was as tenacious as a cockroach, just as Reginald had taught him to be. And he had a motivation.

The incident in the 1960’s proved the same result.

The apocalypse would have happened, a bit sooner than Reginald had planned for, had everything gone to plan. The children were unstable, Vanya would cause a nuclear arms race, and the humans would have blown themselves off the map.

Then Five comes along and rewrites time once again to fit his own little narrative.

At this point, Reignald hasn’t raised these children, but he still has access to the infinite switchboard and has already been planning for the apocalypse for a good half a century. He still knows these children, despite playing dumb, knows all their flaws and their powers and everything that needs to be known. 

And finally, after two averted apocalypses, Reginald understands.

The answer was never Vanya.

The answer was always Five.

Everyone else is convinced that Vanya is the trigger for the apocalypse. At first, Reginald had considered her to be that, too, when he first saw her powers at the age of three, watching her break all the windows and rattle the house like a dangerous earthquake because she wanted an extra snack and her nanny wouldn’t give it to her. He had admittedly focused on that power a bit too much, intrigued by it’s capabilities, before ultimately realising she could never be trained. She was an emotional child, and when a power is so intrinsically linked to the very thing that manifests and works off whim… simply put, it would not do.

Bottling up all of her emotions and powers would create the perfect bomb to destroy the Earth. It was a perfect display of brute force that would align well with what he has in store.

Reginald will admit to no one but himself that focusing on Vanya was a mistake. Five was the unintentional harbinger of the apocalypse.

Five was the variable that led to the decay of this timeline. If he’s present or not, it doesn’t matter- it’s him that influences whether the apocalypse happens or not. The first and second apocalypse happens because he’s not there. Five disappears in the first timeline, leaving his siblings to rot away while he lives a new life separate from them, and he can’t fix any of the problems he would have if he was there. In the second apocalypse, he wasn’t there to help piece the family back together.

But he was also the one who brought his siblings to the 1960s in the first place. 

Reginald realises that while Five is meant to bring the apocalypse, he also has the potential to stop it. Five needs to be taken out to avoid the apocalypse.

If Five is the one who causes the apocalypse, then, well, he’ll be a bit too busy to stop it, won’t he?

Five will destroy himself with his own powers. He’ll destroy everything else around him, too. It gets rid of Five, his pesky siblings, and the rest of the world. It’s a perfect plan.

Five is clearly emotionally unstable, too. His siblings have had years to heal from what the original Reginald put them through, but Five’s life has been one hell after another. It says quite a bit that his time at the Umbrella Academy was the highest point in his life before everything went downhill. He’ll be easy to manipulate; he’s a bomb, just like Vanya, with powers that can do untold damage. He just needs someone to pull the pin.

He knows that the Umbrella Academy will reappear in 2019, in their “wrong timeline.” Reginlad decides to adopt new children for a variety of reasons. He wants to alienate the Umbrella Academy from stability; to further the potential conflicts between Five and his siblings; to create a group of heroes that can further antagonise them; to cause more instability at the reveal of Ben having stayed alive in this timeline; and to create a backup plan.

This Umbrella Academy was starting to become stable and whole. Should the attempt with Five fail, though Reginald has seen that it won’t, he does want to have a back up plan. There are a few Sparrows with potential world ending powers, and he knows just the right buttons to push to cause it.

The question now is over what he should do with the remaining Umbrella Academy. He supposes it doesn’t necessarily matter. The children will be seething over Five’s betrayal, but they’ll believe it was voluntary, and will make few attempts to rescue him. Five is a stranger to them all, after a near twenty year gap. They won’t miss him for long.

He had plans to cast them into Hotel Oblivion, along with his other rejects and villains. While in another timeline, they had suited his needs, he won’t be needing them at this moment in time. They’ll likely break free from the hotel, besides, but by that time, it will be far too late. The separation between Five and his siblings will only further his emotional distress and will lead to a wonderful little breakdown as Five struggles with his altered DNA and emotional baggage. The children will break free just in time to watch the world burn at the hands of the brother they casted aside.

There’s a knock at his door, one that doesn’t sound like any of the Sparrow Academy. They rarely ever bothered him while he was in his office, especially since they’ve grown past their juvenile need for a father figure, and when they did dare to bother him, they didn’t knock like that.

He glances at the door, then back at the paper he was writing on. So it seems they had the same idea. “Come in.”

The door is locked, of course. He doesn’t bother to get up and unlock it. If it’s who he thinks it is, then he’ll have no problem getting in.

The door knob rattles, then stops. There’s a small sigh on the other side, before a burst of blue appears directly in front of him. A child stands in front of him, blood soaked to the bone, hair matted and knotted, a slight tremor to his hands. He appears weary, but determined.

Five glances around, ever so minutely, assessing the threats in this room. His eyes settle on the paper Reginald was writing on, and his lips flicker up ever so slightly. “I see we had the same idea?”

“You’re alone, I presume.”

“I think we both remember how well that dinner went, and the fight in the living room yesterday. It’s best if the grown ups talk.”

Reginald moved his hand off the paper, making sure the address was clear. Five soaks it in, but doesn’t look particularly alarmed. He had assumed it was a matter of time before his siblings and him were tracked down. “I had only planned on inviting you. You are the only source of intellect in that group of babbling fools.”

Five hovers by the chair. He wants to sit, but he seems to be waiting for approval. Reginald decides to let him wait. “It’s like herding cats, to be frank.” He shifts, crossing arms. He’s placing all his weight on his right leg, he notes. “Now, speaking of my siblings, we have quite a few things to discuss, don’t we?”

“Yes. I think you understand why I’m hesitant to leave you to your own devices.”

Five runs a hand over his face. “I can’t say I blame you. It doesn’t look very good. Vanya caused two apocalypses.” He winces, seemingly guilty at pinning the blame on her. “You think we’re going to be the cause of a third apocalypse here, don’t you?”

“Yes. I don’t want you to cause the destruction of my timeline.”

“We don’t, either. We’re just trying to get home. To our real timeline.” Five taps his foot idly, then stops. 

“Perhaps we may be able to come to a truce, of sorts.”

There’s relief in his eyes at those words. “Yes. My siblings and I are more than willing to avoid conflict.” Somehow, Reginald doubts that.

“I don’t want you hooligans in my timeline causing problems. The less time you’re here, the less likely it is that you managed to upset the space time continuum, and the less likely you brought an apocalypse with you. Here’s my suggestion: we can work together to get your siblings back home.”

Five’s eyes narrow. “I mean no maliciousness, but I am curious about what you have to offer to the table. What do you know about time travel and alternate timelines?”

His legs are shaking. Reginald decides that he’s displayed his sign of power for long enough, and waves to the seat in front of him. Five hesitates, hiding his eagerness, before settling in the chair. The boy has clearly been through the wringer; Reginald has seen enough to know exactly what he’s gone through. The physical and emotional trauma he’s endured within these past two weeks will certainly aid in Five’s inevitable agreement to Reginald’s terms.

Reginald watches the child sat before him, as his foot taps on the floor. There’s a sharp gleam to his eyes, one that Reginald can easily recognise as intelligence. He had met him before, when he had invited him and his siblings to a diner. He knows that he’s not an actual child, unlike his siblings, and that he’s clearly much smarter than those blathering fools, too.

Reginald does respect him, frankly. 

Unfortunately, what Reginald sees in front of him isn’t a peer. He seeks a weakness.

Five fingers twitch towards the pen on his desk. He doesn’t grab it, but Reginald can see that he wants to, even if unconsciously. He looks bone achingly tired, and his breathing is a bit labored.

He knows exactly how and why.

“I have a few… strings, to some organizations who know about time travel.”

Something clicks. Five’s fingers twitch even harder and his body is completely on edge. It’s like watching a lion preparing to pounce. 

“The Commision.”

Reginald raises a brow. “I’ve never heard of it.”

“I’m sure you know of it as the Temps Aeternalis?” He glances at his hands, and picks at the blood under his nails. “AJ Carmicheal decided to rename it after a scandal fifty years ago. I’m certain you’re aware of the Moscow incident of 1654”

“Why would you assume it’s the Commission? I was a part of the Majestic 12; certainly you realise I mean the FBI and CIA and various associations.”

Five’s eyes narrow, ever so slightly. He knows even that minute muscle movement was calculated. “I had suspected it for a while. How else would you know about an apocalypse? And your knowledge over time travel was suspicious at best.” He hums, muttering, “Time travel is ‘descending blindly into the depths of freezing water and reappearing as an acorn.’ I always wondered how you could possibly know that, when time travel was nothing more than speculative science fiction, especially in the 60’s.”

Reginald watches Five for a few moments, as he stews on this realisation. “I’ve worked alongside the Temps on a couple occasions. The Seveso disaster… Lenexa cover-up… Roswell... They owe me a few favours.”

Five appears highly suspicious. He’s becoming paranoid, which means he’s not liking what Reginald is saying. “That means… you knew I was at the Commission, didn’t you?”

He’s struggling to not blame this Reginald. Because this Reginald “doesn’t know him,” but his father in the other timeline most certainly did these same things, and most certainly had the same connections. 

“Not until after you made your escape.” Reginald claps his hands together. “I can not speak for the Reginald that was your father, but I was not aware of your existence until you appeared in the sixties. Your father may have known.”

Five swallows. He’s betrayed, Reginald can tell. His father had known where he was, and never came for him. Rescue was at the tips of his fingers, and yet the only person that knew where he was and had the capacity to want to help didn’t even bother. A lifetime of nothing but suffering, starvation, and fear could have been avoided.

The truth, of course, was that Reginald Hargreeves did not know where Five was, that Five was stuck in the future, that Five was playing assassin with the very organisation he had created. He did not know AJ was conspiring behind his back. Though, considering Five’s potential, Reginald does not necessarily blame AJ and the Handler for deciding to create something out of his discarded science experiment. And Five did prove himself to be a valuable assassin, especially after the DNA alterations.

But Reginald wants to paint himself and Five’s father as completely different people. The Reginald of the past was perhaps despicable and cold; the Reginald now is much kinder and trustworthy.

“However, after the sixties, I did do my research into you.” Five stares at him. “I must say, I’m rather impressed. You became the deadliest assassin in the Commission in just a few months.”

“I did what I had to.”

“I commend you. Surviving forty years in a desolate wasteland, becoming an assassin… Your dedication to survival is an achievement that deserves celebration. I’m certain your siblings were ecstatic to find that you had lived, and that you had managed to survive for so long.”

Five winces; a hit. Reginald knows damn well what his siblings’ reactions were. “They were… happy to see me, I’m sure, but not so happy to hear my warnings of an impending apocalypse. I suppose it would be a natural reaction to disbelieve that; after all, I certainly hadn’t expected to step foot into the apocalypse in 2019.”

“They didn’t believe you? Surely, I had trained all of you and made you aware that an apocalypse was going to happen?”

“It seemed too far fetched.”

“Rather feeble minded of them, considering all that they’ve seen.” Reginald sighs. “I suppose you truly are the only one with any sort of brains. They have extraordinary powers, and yet they could not fathom the end of the world?”

Five shifts. “It was annoying that they didn’t believe me… both times…”

Reginald’s eyes narrow. “Quite an incompetant team, but you care for them, don’t you?”

Five glances to the side. “I just want to save the world, just like you had taught us.”

Deflection. Reginald knew the answer, anyway. “Quite thankless, isn’t it? Even your own siblings acted rather ungrateful, despite all your strife.”

Five grips the hem of his shorts. “What are you getting at here?”

Reginald sighs. “I want to help you and your family, Five. I want you to go back to your original timeline, I want to avoid an apocalypse, and I want to make sure that you are properly helped.”

Five’s eyes narrow.

“I’ve read your files, and I understand you went through some experimentation.” Five’s expression darkens at the mention. “DNA alteration, caused you to become aggressive and enjoy inflicting harm on others, correct?”

Five glances to the side, twitching. It’s easy to assume he’s in an aggressive cycle at this moment. Reginald needs to be careful- he may be much smarter than Five, but intellect can only get you so far when you’re talking to a caged animal. Five has talons, he’s not afraid to use them, and the alterations to his DNA gave him a 100% successful kill rate. It’s an insurance if his target is ending the world, but a liability if he intends on killing Reginald before his plans come to fruition.

“Yes.” It sounds almost pained.

“Your homicidal tendencies can not be fixed,” he states, simply. “But perhaps I could offer an alternative. Instead of destroying what’s been done to you, perhaps we could repurpose it.”

Five’s eyes narrow. “What are you suggesting?”

He already knows. “You have murderous intentions. Channel that into something positive. Work for me, and I’m certain we’ll be able to find a balance.”

“Work for you?” The connection is made, but Five plays dumb, clearly trying to make sure he’s jumping to the right conclusions.

“I want you to work for the Sparrow Academy.”

“You want me… to join the Sparrow Academy?” He’s repeating to stall; Reginald can see the gears turning inside his head. He’s suspicious at best, but Reginald knows how to get him to comply.

“It’s very much a win-win situation. You’ll be separated from your siblings, so you won't stand a chance to hurt them. My children are much better trained than your…. Siblings; they can handle you. You can kill for a positive cause, improve the lives of the plenty through it. And of course, I’ll be helping you find a way home for your family.”

Five frowns, staring at the pen. “I see.” 

“What do you say?”

“What’s in it for you?” His eyes are narrowed, and his foot shifts. He seems to be unconsciously preparing for a fight.

“Your powers.” Reginald leans on the desk, gazing down at Five. He seems to get a bit smaller in his seat. “You see, being able to manipulate space and time would be an impeccable weapon under our arsenal. We want to save the world, just like you and your siblings. Your powers offer us the potential of redos, of learning and improving from mistakes.”

Five glances at Reginald, then at the window, then back at Reginald. “I don’t have full control over my time travel abilities. I only just managed to figure out how to go back in time a few seconds.”

“I’ll train you.” He flinches. “I will be frank, Number Five- I do not know much about what I was like in your timeline. I assume I was not a very good man, given what was said at that dinner and the fight in my foyer. But I can assure you that I am not that man. My children would be willing to vouch, I’m certain.”

He adjusts his monocle, watching him intently. “My alternate self let you rot in a botched future. I do not plan to repeat his past mistakes.”

Number Five- no great loss.

If only the alternative Reginald knew of the extent of his powers.

“What do you say?”

“You promise to get my siblings home, safe, in their proper timeline?”

“I’m certain our collaboration will result in that.”

Five doesn't appear comforted, but sighs. “I… see. I… I agree to your terms.”

“Wonderful.” He glances at Five’s uniform, eyeing blatantly. “I’m not a man to waste time, as you know.”

He shifts to his side and reaches down to grab a box at the foot of his desk. He’d been prepared for this meeting, after all. He slides the box across his desk, and Five eyes it suspiciously, before lifting the lid off. His expression shifts, ever so slightly, something dull taking root inside him. His eyes are vacant as he stares at the red fabric, before reaching towards it.

“A uniform…”

“We can’t have you prancing about in that outfit, can we?” He gestures to the blue uniform Five was wearing, eyeing the miscellaneous bloodstains. “A change would do you some good.”

He halfheartedly picks the jacket up, gripping it tightly. 

“Unfortunately, we already do have a Number Five on our team…” He pretends to be thinking, gazing at Five as he stares intensely at the red fabric in his grip. “And I’m afraid it might be… redundant and confusing for you to continue to go as Number Five, when you’re no longer a part of the Umbrella Academy.”

Five flinches at that statement, and runs his thumb over the golden pin. “What do you suggest?”

“Number Eight.”

It’s deathly quiet. Five grips the fabric tight, his eyes unfocused, his body completely rigid. He lets out a rattling breath, before saying, “Well, I suppose I haven’t really been Number Five in over forty years. What must be done, must be done.”

“It’s a pleasure to have you working with me, Number Eight.”

The boy pulls off his jacket and lifts the red one out of the box. He gives it a hard stare, evaluating it, before slipping it over his shoulders. 

He remains silent for a few more moments, a blank expression on his face. He’s cracking already, and this operation has only just begun. Reginald gives him the slightest of a smile, moving away from his desk towards the teenage senior.

He placed a hand on Five’s shoulder, and hesitated only a moment before pulling Five into a tight and stiff hug. Despite the shift in timeline, Reginald is still very much not an emotional nor caring person, and he can not remember the last time he had hugged someone. But this isn’t a show of fatherly love; it’s a calculated move. 

He needs the boy to believe that he’s a different man, that he’s a better version than the one he grew up with. Five already felt a lot of guilt about not having listened to him as a child, and if he sees a father figure who appears to be much healthier and kinder, he’ll be more inclined to trust Reginald. And that’s imperative to this plan, to build his trust before knocking him down.

Five stiffens under him, clearly shocked at the display of affection. Reginald wonders momentarily the last time he had felt such affections- had his siblings offered any physical comfort when he came back from the dead? He doubts it.

Hesitantly, Five wraps his arms around Reginald’s waist. 

Reginald pulls away and studies Five for a moment. The boy’s face is carefully blank, hardened, but Reginald can see the way his legs quiver slightly. He’s nervous, he’s scared, and he’s still vying for his father’s approval despite everything. This is going to be very, very easy.

He adjusts Five’s tie and straightens his collar. They didn’t need to be fixed, the boy had carefully adjusted everything to fit himself, but it wasn’t necessarily a show of fatherly compassion. 

“How does it feel?” 

Five’s expression remains steady. “It’s a perfect fit.”

**Author's Note:**

> tbh ive always liked the theory that reggie was never actually interested in saving the world but i don’t see it actually happening
> 
> anyway i really want a sparrow five but if we do get it i don’t think it’s going to happen the way we think we will, like how we thought season two was going to have them travel back to when they were like 13 (so ie, i imagine if we get a sparrow five it lasts for like ten minutes before he double crosses lmao)
> 
> i’ve got like a list of songs i really really want in tua and a lot of them is abba... lmao


End file.
